About this tool
The Acoustic Treatment Budget & Priority Calculator assembles a sensible set of treatment actions within your budget, matched to your room purpose. You enter room dimensions, pick a purpose (mixing, recording/vocal booth, podcasts/speech, home listening, or general), and pick a strategy (quick win, best value, maximum within budget, or DIY). The tool outputs a recommended list of steps — from corner bass traps to a local voice treatment — with per-category costs and a "usefulness index" calibrated to the chosen scenario.
Why it matters: without a plan, it is easy to spend most of the budget on ineffective solutions. Thin foam on every wall is expensive and does almost nothing for bass problems. Bass traps alone leave early reflections untreated. The calculator prioritizes: what to do first on a tight budget, what to add next as the budget grows, and where each additional step yields diminishing returns.
How to read results: the "Usefulness Index" is a plan score, not a physical acoustic measurement. It reflects the combined weight of the recommended steps for your scenario and strategy. The "Diminishing Returns" chart shows cumulative usefulness as spending accumulates. If the plan exceeds the budget, the "Auto-fit within budget" button rebuilds the selection under the available amount.
Strategies:
• Quick win — low-cost steps with perceptible effect.
• Best value — balance between cost and effectiveness (default recommendation).
• Maximum within budget — a 0/1 knapsack solve for the optimal set under the given amount.
• DIY — steps you can execute yourself, without a contractor. Automatically drops labor costs and uses DIY material prices.
Cost modes: "Average" uses reference prices for the Russian market, "Custom" lets you enter your own per-category amounts.
Next steps: save the calculation to your account to revisit and compare alternatives. Head to the absorber calculators and treatment planner to dimension specific constructions.
